TRAIL RUNNING
Oldest entrant , Geert De Decker ( 78 )
Pre-prologue laughs
Cooling off during the second stage
Ready to Run
We settled in , unpacked , met all our fellow tentmates that we would be sharing our space with , and got ready for the Prologue . This warm-up run is on the Thursday afternoon and gives everyone a chance to loosen up their legs before the real running starts on the Friday morning with Stage 1 . The prologue is traditionally around 10km and starts a few kays down the road from De Hoek , with runners actually getting to run through the Cango Caves early in the run . Unfortunately , due to COVID safety precautions , this year we could not run through the Caves , so we were taken on a tough little 7.3km with 330m of ascent to prepare the legs for a solid weekend of running .
The first stage was 25.7km long with 1140m of ascent , starting about halfway up the Swartberg Pass and certainly gave us a tough start to the day . That was followed by the longest stage of 28.3km , with 870m of ascent , and the last day was a 10km ‘ warm-down ’ with 350m of ascent . These routes offer something for everyone , but it is advisable to run in trail shoes , as a few sections are quite technical – the descent on Stage 2 is particularly challenging , even for seasoned trail runners !
Regular river crossings meant opportunities to cool down
Another Drylander experiencing a runner ’ s high
The routes over the four days are well thought out and include sections of the Swartberg Mountains , trails through lush green farmlands , onion fields , herds of cow , sheep and goats , paths over rocky technical climbs with breathtaking views of the Great and Klein Karoo , some challenging downhill trails , a traverse of the beautiful and very full Raubenheimer Dam , plus plenty of water crossings that offered one the chance to sit and cool off . That said , it is a clever idea to bring an extra pair of shoes if you can , as putting on wet shoes the next day is not always ideal .
Images : Carli Smith & Justin Reinecke
34 ISSUE 146 NOVEMBER 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za The Stage 1 start halfway up the Swartberg Pass